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In the Red Banyan blog, we often say that no one is immune to a PR crisis. This postulate is especially true in the world of politics, where crises of all sorts happen of a daily basis.

Tennessee state representative Curry Todd learned this the hard way, when he was arrested earlier this week for allegedly stealing his opponent’s Mark Lovell’s campaign signs from the side of the road.

Although the bail bond was set at just $100, no one rushed to the lawmaker’s rescue. This is when Lovell made his brilliant move:

“Someone called me and said Curry Todd is still in jail and nobody’s posted his bond yet,” Lovell said Tuesday night. “I thought, we don’t need our state representative in jail. He can get out and the judge can decide what to do about it later.”

Yes, you guessed it: the man whose campaign signs Mr. Todd was allegedly stealing bailed him out of jail. The entire story quickly went viral and has since been covered in major national media outlets.

And just like that, what became a PR disaster for one politician turned out to be an opportunity for another.

In the world of political PR, where common tactics often include saying negative things about your opponents, Lovell’s demonstration of goodwill has certainly helped boost his political image.

Needless to say that such widespread publicity couldn’t have come at a better time for Lovell, as Tennessee is holding its Primary Election today, August 4, 2016.